The supply of electricity to (e.g., the charging of) a 12 V battery (auxiliary battery) installed in a hybrid vehicle, for example, has been controlled by lowering the voltage of high-voltage electricity from the main battery for motor driving using a DC/DC converter, and then supplying the reduced-voltage electricity from the main battery to the auxiliary battery.
JP 2006-174619A is an example of related art.
Conventionally, the auxiliary battery and the DC/DC converter have been connected to each other by an electrical wire with terminals attached at the two ends. When making a connection using such an electrical wire provided with terminals, the connection locations include not only the connections with the battery and the converter, but also the connections between the electrical wire and the terminals, thus raising the number of factors that reduce connection reliability.
There are also cases where the DC/DC converter is installed in the rear side of the vehicle, and the auxiliary battery is installed in the engine room. In these cases, it is common for the electrical wire connecting the two to be laid under the floor of the vehicle, and the electrical wire needs to be passed through a protector in order to be held in a predetermined route (route restriction). However, taking this sort of measure requires members such as a protector and holding clamps for holding the protector to the vehicle body, and thus has the risk of leading to a reduction in work efficiency and an increase in cost.